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Start Preamble

AGENCY:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Treasury.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect the imposition of emergency import restrictions on certain archaeological and ethnological materials from Libya. The Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, United States Department of State, has determined that conditions warrant the imposition of emergency import restrictions on categories of archaeological and ethnological materials from Libya, which represent the cultural heritage of Libya. This document contains the Designated List of Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Libya that describes the types of objects or categories of archaeological or ethnological material to which the import restrictions apply. The emergency import restrictions imposed on certain archaeological and ethnological materials from Libya will be in effect for a five-year period. These restrictions are being imposed pursuant to determinations of the United States Department of State made under the terms of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, which implements the 1970 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The value of cultural property, whether archaeological or ethnological in nature, is immeasurable. Such items often constitute the very essence of a society and convey important information concerning a people's origin, history, and traditional setting. The importance and popularity of such items regrettably makes them targets of theft, encourages clandestine looting of archaeological sites, and results in their illegal export and import.

The United States shares in the international concern for the need to protect endangered cultural property. The appearance in the United States of stolen or illegally exported artifacts from other countries where there has been pillage has, on occasion, strained our foreign and cultural relations. This situation, combined with the concerns of museum, archaeological, and scholarly communities, was recognized by the President and Congress. It became apparent that it was in the national interest for the United States to join with other countries to control illegal trafficking of such articles in international commerce.

The United States joined international efforts and actively participated in deliberations resulting in the 1970 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (hereinafter, “1970 UNESCO Convention” or “the Convention” (823 U.N.T.S. 231 (1972))). The United States implemented the Convention in U.S. law through the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (hereafter, Start Printed Page 57347“the Cultural Property Implementation Act” or “the Act” (Pub. L. 97-446, 19 U.S.C. 2601et seq.)). This was done to promote U.S. leadership in achieving greater international cooperation towards preserving cultural treasures that are of importance to the nations from which they originate and contribute to greater international understanding of our common heritage.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Act, the United States may enter into international agreements with another State Party to the Convention to impose import restrictions on eligible archaeological and ethnological materials under procedures and requirements prescribed by the Act.

In certain limited circumstances, the Cultural Property Implementation Act authorizes the imposition of restrictions on an emergency basis (19 U.S.C. 2603). The emergency restrictions are effective for no more than five years from the date of the State Party's request and may be extended for three years where it is determined that the emergency condition continues to apply with respect to the covered materials (19 U.S.C. 2603(c)(3)). These restrictions may also be continued pursuant to an agreement concluded within the meaning of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2603(c)(4)).

Under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, as contemplated at 19 U.S.C. 2602(a), the Government of Libya, a State Party to the 1970 UNESCO Convention, requested that import restrictions be imposed on certain archaeological and ethnological material, the pillage of which jeopardizes the cultural heritage of Libya. The Act authorizes the President (or designee) to apply import restrictions on an emergency basis if the President determines that an emergency condition applies with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material of any requesting state (19 U.S.C. 2603).

On September 22, 2017, the Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, acting pursuant to delegated authority, made the determinations necessary under the Act for the emergency implementation of import restrictions on categories of archaeological and ethnological material from Libya. The Designated List below sets forth the categories of material that the import restrictions apply to. Thus, CBP is amending 19 CFR 12.104g(b) accordingly.

Importation of covered materials from Libya will be restricted for a five-year period until May 30, 2022. Importation of such materials from Libya continues to be restricted through that date unless the conditions set forth in 19 U.S.C. 2606 and 19 CFR 12.104c are met.

Designated List of Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Libya

The Designated List covers archaeological material of Libya and Ottoman ethnological material of Libya (as defined in section 302 of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)), including, but not limited to, the following types of material. The archaeological materials represent the following periods and cultures: Paleolithic, Neolithic, Punic, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman dating approximately 12,000 B.C. to 1750 A.D. The ethnological materials represent categories of Ottoman objects derived from sites of religious and cultural importance made from 1551 A.D. through 1911 A.D.

The Designated List set forth below is representative only. Any dimensions are approximate.

c. Monuments—In marble, limestone, and other kinds of stone. Types include votive statues, funerary and votive stelae, and bases and base revetments. These may be painted, carved with relief sculpture, decorated with moldings, and/or carry dedicatory or funerary inscriptions in Greek, Punic, Latin, or Arabic. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 1750 A.D.

d. Statuary—Primarily in marble, but also in limestone and sandstone. Large- and small-scale, including deities, human, animal, and hybrid figures, as well as groups of figures in the round. Common types are large-scale and free-standing statuary from approximately 3 to 8 ft. in height, life-sized portrait or funerary busts (head and shoulders of an individual), waist-length female busts that are either faceless (aniconic) and/or veiled (head or face), and statuettes typically 1 to 3 ft. in height. Includes fragments of statues. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 1750 A.D.

e. Sepulchers—In marble, limestone, and other kinds of stone. Types of burial containers include sarcophagi, caskets, and chest urns. May be plain or have figural, geometric, or floral motifs painted on them, be carved in relief, and/or have decorative moldings. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 1750 A.D.

2. Vessels and Containers—In marble and other stone. Vessels may belong to conventional shapes such as bowls, cups, jars, jugs, lamps, and flasks, and also include smaller funerary urns. Funerary urns can be egg-shaped vases with button-topped covers and may have sculpted portraits, painted geometric motifs, inscriptions, scroll-like handles and/or be ribbed.

3. Furniture—In marble and other stone. Types include thrones, tables, and beds. May be funerary, but do not have to be. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 15th century A.D.

4. Inscriptions—Primarily in marble and limestone. Inscribed stone materials date from the late 7th century B.C. to 5th century A.D. May include funerary stelae, votive plaques, tombstones, mosaic floors, and building plaques in Greek, Punic, Latin, or Arabic. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 1750 A.D.

B. Metal

1. Sculpture

a. Statuary—Primarily in bronze, iron, silver, or gold, including fragments of statues. Large- and small-scale, including deities, human, and animal figures, as well as groups of figures in the round. Common types are large-scale, free-standing statuary from approximately 3 to 8 ft. in height and life-size busts (head and shoulders of an individual) and statuettes typically 1 to 3 ft. in height. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 324 A.D.

c. Inscribed or Decorated Sheet—In bronze or lead. Engraved inscriptions, “curse tablets,” and thin metal sheets with engraved or impressed designs often used as attachments to furniture. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 15th century A.D.

2. Vessels and Containers—In bronze, silver, and gold. These may belong to conventional shapes such as bowls, cups, jars, jugs, strainers, cauldrons, and oil lamps, or may occur in the shape of an animal or part of an animal. Also include scroll and manuscript containers for Islamic, Jewish, or Christian manuscripts. All can portray deities, humans or animals, as well as floral motifs in relief. Islamic Period objects may be inscribed in Arabic. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 15th century A.D.

b. Greek Bronze Coins—Struck by city-states of the Pentapolis, Carthage and the Ptolemaic kingdom that operated in territory of the Cyrenaica in eastern Libya. Approximate date: 4th century B.C. to late 1st century B.C.

c. Greek Silver and Gold Coins—This category includes coins of the city-states of the Pentapolis in the Cyrenaica and the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Coins from the city-state of Cyrene often bear an image of the silphium plant. Such coins date from the late 6th century B.C. to late 1st century B.C.

e. Byzantine Coins—In bronze, silver, and gold by Byzantine emperors. Struck in Constantinople and other mints. From 4th century A.D. through 1396 A.D.

f. Islamic Coins—In bronze, silver, and gold. Dinars with Arabic inscriptions inside a circle or square, may be surrounded with symbols. Struck at mints in Libya (Barqa) and adjacent regions. From 642 A.D. to 15th century A.D.

c. Statuary—Large- and small-scale. Subject matter is varied and includes deities, human and animal figures, human body parts, and groups of figures in the round. May be brightly colored. These range from approximately 4 to 40 in. in height. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 3rd century A.D.

d. Terracotta Figurines—Terracotta statues and statuettes, including deities, human, and animal figures, as well as groups of figures in the round. Late 7th century B.C. to 3rd century A.D.

2. Vessels

a. Neolithic Pottery—Handmade, often decorated with a lustrous burnish, decorated with applique´ and/or incision, sometimes with added paint. These come in a variety of shapes from simple bowls and vases to large storage jars. Approximate date: 10th millennium B.C. to 3rd millennium B.C.

b. Greek Pottery—Includes both local and imported fine and coarse wares and amphorae. Also imported Attic Black Figure, Red Figure and White Ground Pottery—these are made in a specific set of shapes (e.g., amphorae, kraters, hydriae, oinochoi, kylikes) decorated with black painted figures on a clear clay ground (Black Figure), decorative elements in reserve with background fired black (Red Figure), and multi-colored figures painted on a white ground (White Ground). Corinthian Pottery—Imported painted pottery made in Corinth in a specific range of shapes for perfume and unguents and for drinking or pouring liquids. The very characteristic painted and incised designs depict human and animal figural scenes, rows of animals, and floral decoration. Approximate date: 8th century B.C. to 6th century B.C.

c. Punic and Roman Pottery—Includes fine and coarse wares, including terra sigillata and other red gloss wares, and cooking wares and mortaria, storage and shipping amphorae.

e. Islamic and Ottoman Pottery—Includes plain or utilitarian wares as well as painted wares.

f. Oil Lamps and Molds—Rounded bodies with a hole on the top and in the nozzle, handles or lugs and figural motifs (beading, rosette, silphium). Include glazed ceramic mosque lamps, which may have a straight or round bulbous body with flared top, and several branches. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 15th century A.D.

D. Glass, Faience, and Semi-Precious Stone

1. Architectural Elements—Mosaics and glass windows.

2. Vessels—Shapes include small jars, bowls, animal shaped, goblet, spherical, candle holders, perfume jars (unguentaria), and mosque lamps. Those from prehistory and ancient history may be engraved and/or colorless or blue, green or orange, while those from the Islamic Period may include animal, floral, and/or geometric motifs. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 15th century A.D.

4. Mosque Lamps—May have a straight or round bulbous body with flared top, and several branches. Approximate date: 642 A.D. to 1750 A.D.

E. Mosaic

1. Floor Mosaics—Including landscapes, scenes of deities, humans, or animals, and activities such as hunting and fishing. There may also be vegetative, floral, or geometric motifs and imitations of stone. Often have religious imagery. They are made from stone cut into small bits (tesserae) and laid into a plaster matrix. Approximate date: 5th century B.C. to 4th century A.D.

2. Wall and Ceiling Mosaics—Generally portray similar motifs as seen in floor mosaics. Similar technique to floor mosaics, but may include tesserae of both stone and glass. Approximate date: 5th century B.C. to 4th century A.D.

F. Painting

2. Wall Painting—With figurative (deities, humans, animals), floral, and/or geometric motifs, as well as funerary scenes. These are painted on stone, mud plaster, lime plaster (wet—buon fresco—and dry—secco fresco), sometimes to imitate marble. May be on domestic or public walls as well as in tombs. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 1551 A.D.

G. Plaster

Stucco reliefs, plaques, stelae, and inlays or other architectural decoration in stucco.

H. Textiles, Basketry, and Rope

1. Textiles—Linen cloth was used in Greco-Roman times for mummy wrapping, shrouds, garments, and sails. Islamic textiles in linen and wool, including garments and hangings.

2. Basketry—Plant fibers were used to make baskets and containers in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as sandals and mats.

3. Rope—Rope and string were used for a great variety of purposes, including binding lifting water for irrigation, fishing nets, measuring, and stringing beads for jewelry and garments.

I. Bone, Ivory, Shell, and Other Organics

1. Small Statuary and Figurines—Subject matter includes human, animal, and hybrid figures, and parts thereof as well as groups of figures in the round. These range from approximately 4 to 40 in. in height. Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 15th century A.D.

4. Seals and Stamps—Small devices with at least one side engraved with a design for stamping or sealing; they can be discoid, cuboid, conoid, or in the shape and animals or fantastic creatures (e.g., a scarab). Approximate date: 1st millennium B.C. to 2nd millennium B.C.

5. Luxury Objects—Ivory, bone, and shell were used either alone or as inlays in luxury objects including furniture, chests and boxes, writing and painting equipment, musical instruments, games, cosmetic containers, combs, jewelry, amulets, seals, and vessels made of ostrich egg shell.

J. Wood

Items such as tablets (tabulae), sometimes pierced with holes on the borders and with text written in ink on one or both faces, typically small in size (4 to 12 in. in length), recording sales of property (such as slaves, animals, grain) and other legal documents such as testaments. Approximate date: late 2nd to 4th centuries A.D.

2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture—In marble, limestone, and sandstone. Types include carved slabs with religious, figural, floral, or geometric motifs, as well as plaques and stelae, sometimes inscribed.

3. Statuary—Primarily in marble, but also in limestone and sandstone. Large- and small-scale, such as human (including historical portraits or busts) and animal figures.

4. Sepulchers—In marble, limestone, and other kinds of stone. Types of burial containers include sarcophagi, caskets, coffins, and chest urns. May be plain or have figural, geometric, or floral motifs painted on them, be carved in relief, and/or have decorative moldings.

2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture—Start Printed Page 57350Primarily bronze and brass. Includes appliques, plaques, and stelae. Often with religious, figural, floral, or geometric motifs. May have inscriptions in Arabic.

4. Jewelry and Personal Adornments—In a wide variety of metals such as iron, brass, copper, silver, and gold. Includes rings and ring seals, head ornaments, earrings, pendants, amulets, bracelets, talismans, and belt buckles. May be adorned with inlaid beads, gemstones, and leather.

5. Weapons and Armor—Often in iron or steel. Includes daggers, swords, saifs, scimitars, other blades, with or without sheaths, as well as spears, firearms, and cannons. Ottoman types may be inlaid with gemstones, embellished with silver or gold, or engraved with floral or geometric motifs and inscriptions. Grips or hilts may be made of metal, wood, or even semi-precious stones such as agate, and bound with leather. Armor consisting of small metal scales, originally sewn to a backing of cloth or leather, and augmented by helmets, body armor, shields, and horse armor.

F. Glass

Vessels and containers in glass from mosques, shrines, tombs, and monuments, including glass and enamel mosque lamps and ritual vessels.

G. Textiles

In linen, silk, and wool. Religious textiles and fragments from mosques, shrines, tombs, and monuments, including garments, hangings, prayer rugs, and shrine covers.

H. Leather and Parchment

1. Books and Manuscripts—Either as sheets or bound volumes. Text is often written on vellum or other parchment (cattle, sheep, goat, or camel) and then gathered in leather bindings. Paper may also be used. Types include the Koran and other Islamic books and manuscripts, often written in brown ink, and then further embellished with colorful floral or geometric motifs.

I. Painting and Drawing

Ottoman Period paintings may depict courtly themes (e.g., rulers, musicians, riders on horses) and city views, among other topics.

Inapplicability of Notice and Delayed Effective Date

This amendment involves a foreign affairs function of the United States and is, therefore, being made without notice or public procedure under section 553(a)(1) of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1)). In addition, CBP has determined that such notice or public procedure would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest because the action being taken is essential to implement emergency import restrictions (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B)). For the same reason, a delayed effective date is not required under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601et seq.) do not apply.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13771

CBP has determined that this document is not a regulation or rule subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12866 or Executive Order 13771 because it pertains to a foreign affairs function of the United States, as described above, and therefore is specifically exempted by section 3(d)(2) of Executive Order 12866 and section 4(a) of Executive Order 13771.

Signing Authority

This regulation is being issued in accordance with 19 CFR 0.1(a)(1), pertaining to the Secretary of the Treasury's authority (or that of his/her delegate) to approve regulations related to customs revenue functions.